Seven Saints of Talis

Fallout: Dark Heresy

The Fourth Seal

An ingot of gold, weighing no less than 0.5 kilograms, of no less than 95% purity

A crucible of steel or tungsten

A stylus of brass or bronze

A mold, square or circular in shape, cast of blessed clay

A square of fine silk, yellow or gold in color, large enough to wrap the golden plate in

Twenty candles, of white, yellow or gold color, fitted into individual candlesticks, which must also be gold

An altar of white stone adorned with the colors of the saint

Skills/Talents Required:

Scholastic Lore: Occult +10

Forbidden Lore: Warp +10 or Forbidden Lore: Church of Eternal Fire or Forbidden Lore: Cult of the Revenant Lord

Forbidden Lore: Daemon +10

Tech-Use

Survival

Ritual Preparations: In addition to the preparations listed in the Book of Entrance and the Walking, the Sorcerer must also have prepared an altar dedicated to the saint. The Sorcerer must build and light four bonfires, set at the cross-angles of the cardinal points. The first, to the north-east, must be of poplar. The second to the south-east of pine. The third, to the south-west, of birch and the fourth, to the north-west, of ash. These fires must be lit and fueled to burn throughout the ritual.

The crucible and sufficient fuel must be placed upon the altar, to the right of the center, with the clay mold in the center. Any sort of fuel may be used for the crucible, but it must be capable of reaching at least 1070 degrees Celsius (the melting point of gold). Be careful not to melt the crucible! Steel melts at 1370, Tungsten at 3400.

Any Psychic Phenomena or Perils of the Warp triggered during the ritual are centered on the altar.

Ritual Conditions: This ritual must begin at dawn, and be completed by noon on the twentieth day of the month. The sky must be clear and cloudless, with the sun plainly visible. Sorcerers on worlds that lack a visible sun, either due to being uninhabitable on their surface or perpetually overcast, or for any other reason, may not attempt this ritual. If the Sorcerer should provoke a storm, clouds, darkness or other light-obscuring phenomenon during the ritual, then the test that triggers that effect, as well as any further tests required in the ritual, until its completion, suffer a -20 penalty. The Sorcerer must be accompanied by no one while performing this ritual, and may be observed by none while doing so.

The Watcher must be summoned before the ritual begins and set to its task. No other Daemon, Warp-entity or Spirit may be summoned by the Sorcerer or any assistants during the ritual. During the Ritual, no other Psychic Powers or Arcana may be employed, save those that conjure, create or manipulate fire or light, provided that they do not create darkness.

Failure to successfully complete the ritual sullies the purity of all items involved, and they must be replaced before another attempt can be performed. Another month of purification must pass between attempts.

Stage One

Story: The ritual area sanctified and prepared in accordance with the Law, the Sorcerer stands before the altar. The Sorcerer scribes upon the earth the Seal of the Fourth Gate and then invokes the Four Gates, North to South, East to West.

If the Lord Shammash is pleased by the Sorcerer, a sure sign shall be given.

Mechanics: Building the fires requires an Ordinary (+ 20) Survival test. In order to build the fires to last on their own, sufficient supplies of wood are required, and require a Challenging ( +0) Survival test.

Inscribing the Seal of the Fourth Gate requires a Difficult (-10) Scholastic Lore: Occult or Forbidden Lore: Cult of the Revenant Lord or Forbidden Lore: Church of Eternal Fire test.

Ordeal: There is no specific Ordeal involved with this step. However, both inscribing the Seal and Invoking the Gates can invoke Warp Phenomenon. After each associated test, the Sorcerer must test Willpower. Failure invokes 1 Psychic Phenomenon per degree of failure. Failure by 4 or more degrees causes the ritual to fail.

If successful, the sign is shown as a sunbeam shining down upon the center of the altar.

Stage Two

Story: When the Gates open, kneel ye in the Sign before the altar, and light the fire beneath ye crucible. Invoke the Chant of Shamm Ashutu thrice and then place within the crucible the ingot of gold. Remaining within ye Seal, turn then to the North Gate, and invoke it once more. Your Watcher may defend the Gate, if necessary, for the IGIGI will surely seek entrance. Turn then to the South Gate, and invoke it in turn. Again, your Watcher may serve its function. Then to the East Gate, and the West, invoking each at its time. Keep watch on ye Sun overhead, and invoke each gate only upon the quarter-hour!

Ordeal: When each Gate is Invoked, it will be assailed by a number of Lesser Daemons. The number of Daemons that appear is 1d10 minus the Sorcerer’s WP Bonus. If the Watcher is defeated at any point, the Sorcerer must defeat any Daemons that appear, but is not allowed to conjure any other spirit, nor may they use any Psychic Power that is not fire or light based and that does not create darkness. The Sorcerer may also not leave the confines of the Seal for any reason, or the ritual will fail. If the Sorcerer misses the trigger by more than 1 minute, the Ritual fails.

Stage Three

Story: When the Gates have opened, turn ye then back to the altar, and pour the molten gold from the crucible into the mold. Invoke ye the Calling of Shamm Ashutu. When ye golden seal has cooled, inscribe upon its surface the sign of Shammash with ye stylus of brass or bronze. Close ye Gates and then dismiss ye Watcher.

Mechanics: Pouring the gold from the crucible to the mold requires an Ordinary ( +10) AGI test or an Easy ( +30) Tech-Use test.
Invoking the Calling of Shamm Ashutu requires a Challenging ( +0) Forbidden Lore: Daemon or Forbidden Lore: Cult of the Revenant Lord or Forbidden Lore: Church of Eternal Fire test.

Ordeal: The Invocation of Shamm Ashutu provokes 1 Psychic Phenomenon. Inscribing the Seal of Shammash invokes 1 Peril of the Warp. Closing the Gates provokes 1 Peril of the Warp for every degree of failure on the test.

Ritual Results:

The Seal of Shammash grants the following benefits while worn:

Zone of Truth to a range of 20 meters. While within this area, no one (including the wearer) may speak or write anything that they know to be untrue. While they can be evasive, or ignore questions, or remain silent, nothing they say or write can be knowingly false or misleading.

Solar Lord : While worn, the amulet allows the wearer to heal 1W of damage (even damage that cannot normally be healed) per hour of exposure to direct sunlight, as if under a Regeneration effect. Additionally, the wearer seems suffused with a golden glow. This glow inflicts a -30 penalty to all Concealment and Silent Move tests.

Gaze of Judgement : While wearing the Seal, the wearer may focus their attention on a single subject within 20 meters for 1 Round. At the end of that Round, the wearer makes a PER test. If successful, the wearer learns the subject’s name, place of birth, occupation, total Corruption and Insanity Points, whether or not they have any Malignancies or Mutations, and whether or not they possess any Psychic ability. Using this ability is a Full Round action, the subject does not need to be aware that this power is in use.

Light of Shamm Ashutu : While wearing the Seal, the wearer can see in areas of poor or no illumination as if it were the brightest day. Furthermore, the wearer can, in place of any other attacks, fire a bolt of searing light from their eyes or their hand. Use the wearer’s WP in place of their BS to make this attack. This attack can be dodged, but not parried, and can be used in melee, and has the following profile:

Name

Class

Damage

Pen

Range

ROF

Clip

Special

Light of Shamm Ashutu

Melee (Power) or Pistol (Flame)

2d10 + 10 E

6

20m

NA

NA

Tearing, Razor Sharp, Sanctified, Purifying, Annihilating

Tearing: Roll 1 extra d10 when determining damage, and use the highest two resultsRazor Sharp: If the attacker scores 2 or more total degrees of success on the attack roll, double the attack’s PEN.Sanctified: This weapon deals double-damage against Daemonic and Undead targets, and also forces Instability tests when used against creatures subject to Warp Instability.Purifying: This weapon deals an additional 1d10 damage, ignoring Armor, for every 10 Corruption Points the target possesses.Annihilating: Targets slain by this attack are destroyed utterly, and may not be restored to life by any means.